Up from Slavery: an autobiography eBook

Chapter XVI. Europe

In 1893 I was married to Miss Margaret James Murray,
a native of Mississippi, and a graduate of Fisk University,
in Nashville, Tenn., who had come to Tuskegee as a
teacher several years before, and at the time we were
married was filling the position of Lady Principal.
Not only is Mrs. Washington completely one with me
in the work directly connected with the school, relieving
me of many burdens and perplexities, but aside from
her work on the school grounds, she carries on a mothers’
meeting in the town of Tuskegee, and a plantation
work among the women, children, and men who live in
a settlement connected with a large plantation about
eight miles from Tuskegee. Both the mothers’
meeting and the plantation work are carried on, not
only with a view to helping those who are directly
reached, but also for the purpose of furnishing object-lessons
in these two kinds of work that may be followed by
our students when they go out into the world for their
own life-work.

Aside from these two enterprises, Mrs. Washington
is also largely responsible for a woman’s club
at the school which brings together, twice a month,
the women who live on the school grounds and those
who live near, for the discussion of some important
topic. She is also the President of what is known
as the Federation of Southern Coloured Women’s
Clubs, and is Chairman of the Executive Committee
of the National Federation of Coloured Women’s
Clubs.

Portia, the oldest of my three children, has learned
dressmaking. She has unusual ability in instrumental
music. Aside from her studies at Tuskegee, she
has already begun to teach there.

Booker Taliaferro is my next oldest child. Young
as he is, he has already nearly mastered the brickmason’s
trade. He began working at this trade when he
was quite small, dividing his time between this and
class work; and he has developed great skill in the
trade and a fondness for it. He says that he is
going to be an architect and brickmason. One
of the most satisfactory letters that I have ever
received from any one came to me from Booker last
summer. When I left home for the summer, I told
him that he must work at his trade half of each day,
and that the other half of the day he could spend
as he pleased. When I had been away from home
two weeks, I received the following letter from him:

Tuskegee, Alabama.

My dear Papa: Before you left home you told me
to work at my trade half of each day. I like
my work so much that I want to work at my trade all
day. Besides, I want to earn all the money I
can, so that when I go to another school I shall have
money to pay my expenses.

Your son,

Booker.

My youngest child, Earnest Davidson Washington, says
that he is going to be a physician. In addition
to going to school, where he studies books and has
manual training, he regularly spends a portion of
his time in the office of our resident physician, and
has already learned to do many of the studies which
pertain to a doctor’s office.